June 21, 2008, Radio Kosovo. The Chief Administrator of Kosovo, Joachim Ryker, informed the municipality of Deçan by letter that Executive Decisions 2008/16 and 2008/21, which request the transfer of 24 hectares of social property over the Deçan Monastery, represent the legal position of the UNMIK Authority, regardless of whether the municipality agrees or not. The municipal mayor confirmed receiving this letter but declined to comment on its content.
Immediately after receiving Executive Decisions 2008/16 and 2008/21, the Chief Administrator of Kosovo requested the legalization of the donation given to the Deçan Monastery by the Serbian Parliament in the 1990s, issuing five recommendations, the main one being that Chief Administrator Joachim Ryker should review the executive decisions again to give the justice authorities, whether local or international, the opportunity to do their work.
“Whatever the outcome, the municipality and the people will accept it! Our facts cannot be denied. But there is a chance that we will act before the deed is done!” – warned the Executive Head of the Municipal Assembly of Deçan, Halil Tolaj, during the May 20 session.
According to our sources, the municipality of Deçan, on June 19, 2008, received a letter from Chief Administrator Ryker, informing them that regardless of whether the municipality physically changes the Cadastral Records or not, the Executive Decisions carry the force of law and represent the legal position of the UNMIK Authority regarding the Cadastral Records of the Deçan municipality.
“The property was confiscated from the Monastery in 1946,” say representatives of the Deçan Monastery. “The social land was donated to the Monastery in 1997, according to the laws of Serbia under the leadership of Slobodan Milošević,” say municipal officials of Deçan. The Mayor of the Municipality, Musa Berisha, confirmed receiving this letter but declined to comment on its content.
We recall that Executive Decisions 2008/16 and 2008/21, signed by Chief Administrator Joachim Ryker, request the transfer of the lands registered in the cadastral books of the municipality of Deçan, which are social property of the Beekeeping Center “16 Nëntori”; lands registered in the ownership of the Tourist Hotel Enterprise “Decani”; as well as plots registered under the social enterprise “Enterprise for Public Housing”.